Hey guys, since I've rebuilt my carb, the truck runs great. The only quirk it has now is that it doesn't want to run well until it warms up. This makes me wonder if the electric choke is working like it's supposed to.
FWIW, I did NOT rebuild the choke mechanism when I rebuilt the carb so at least I know I didn't mess it up. That doesn't mean it's working correctly, however.
I believe the choke is not working at all, here is why.
1. I just took the air cleaner off and looked. The truck has been sitting overnight. The choke plate is in the fully open position. I turned the ignition key to the ON position and it never moved. Now it is 87 degrees today, but the engine is "cold" I would think it would move some.
2. I unplugged the electrical connector going to the choke, and with the key on I measure only .3 volts. I could be very wrong, so please don't laugh, but isn't that supposed to be 12 volts? (seems like the electric choke kits for edelbrock tell you to put key on 12v to the choke but I understand it could be different.)
3. When I start the truck cold, it wants to idle at the same 800 RPM's that it does when it's fully warmed up, thus I have to keep giving it some gas to keep it running until it does warm up. I know the fast idle cam is set to have it idle around 1300 RPM's, I just don't think that is coming into play.
I feel like if the choke is supposed to have 12v going to it, this is obviously a good place to start. If the .3 volts is correct, however, I may need to look elsewhere. Suggestions?
I've been trying to read about this thing and there is a lot of talk, but no real good detailed pictures. I believe that the electric portion of this should only be part of the choke operation. I also feel like something is not connected. BTW, I checked and found that with the engine running, I get 6 volts to this wire.
Here are some pictures. Here is the choke with the electrical connection in place.
Here is the choke with the electrical connection removed. It looks like a threaded connection that should go somewhere. From my reading this is possibly supposed to be a heat pipe, saying it goes somewhere on the manifold? I don't really see anywhere on the manifold that this should be connected to. Thought?
I might have figured this out. I finally determined that any problem I might have electrical or otherwise would be with keeping the choke from opening, not from closing. I took the choke housing off and found that the spring was in fact there and connected. That is when I noticed the marks on the top and the fact that the housing was cranked some 20 degrees past the last mark. I installed it straight up and low and behold the choke plate closed. I started the truck and it slowly opened as it got up to temperature.
Now that it's working, I can play with it and see if it needs any further tweaking, but I'll probably have to try it first thing in the morning.
That's a picture of the best choke on any 2100, ever.
It works perfect every time.
Alvin in AZ
Well that's all well and good I suppose, but being that all of the parts of mine were still intact, I'd just assume it work. I know a lot of people who race will remove the choke in the interest of hp. If I was looking for peak horsepower, however, I wouldn't be running a 302 with a 2 bbl.
I went out a few minutes ago and took the air cleaner off. I noticed that the choke was closed like it was supposed to be. I got in the truck, pumped the gas pedal one time to set the throttle on the fast idle cam. I hit the key and it fired up within half a revolution and ran like a dream. It was idling at 2500 so I adjusted the fast idle screw to bring that down around to 1300. I let it get fully warmed up and double checked my warm idle setting. I think everything is good to go!
I got in the truck, pumped the gas pedal one time to set the throttle on the
fast idle cam. I hit the key and it fired up within half a revolution and ran like
a dream. It was idling at 2500 so I adjusted the fast idle screw to bring that
down around to 1300. I let it get fully warmed up and double checked my
warm idle setting. I think everything is good to go!
Yeah, well, I guess that works too. :/
Alvin in AZ
ps- Had my choke wired open for like 10 years and decided one day to just
get rid of it all the way. :)
"nothing wrong with a choke a hacksaw and hoof rasp can't fix ;)"
There might come a day when my wife needs to drive it, and it would be nice if she could get it started. Personally I would prefer a manual choke, but there is no provision for that inside and the truck is in too good a shape for me to go punching extra holes in the dash.
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